It seems like we just heard the news that Pat Sajak was stepping down as host of Wheel of Fortune. He’s been at the helm for 40+ years, so the news of his retirement shouldn’t have come as a shock to fans.

It’s been a great run for him, and when the announcement came, the speculation of his replacement was instantaneous. While there were many names that were being tossed around, one name kept coming up as the “obvious” choice – Ryan Seacrest.

I won’t sugar coat this – I hoped that Seacrest would NOT be the new host. As you know, he has been officially named as Sajak’s replacement. This is a disappointment to me. It is bad enough to see him once a week on TV, now that phoney smile will grace televisions 5 nights a week!

I’m sure that he’s a nice guy, and I know he’s a fellow radio guy, but really, there wasn’t ANYONE else they could have picked? Give someone else a chance, dude! Doesn’t he do enough already? Isn’t he making enough money? I may be in the minority here, but I don’t see the appeal. I don’t get why he is so popular.

The only radio I’ve heard him do is the American Top 40, which Casey Kasem used to host. He does ok, but he’s just reading a script that is already prepared for him. It’s not that hard. Casey did the same thing, however, it sounded more genuine.

He’s hosted American Idol for over 20 years (a show that should have been done 15 years ago). I suppose his recorded bits sound good, but he always seems to be more of an annoyance the rest of the time he is on screen.

When he co-hosted that show with Kelly Ripa, I wondered if we’d finally get to see some real interview skills. I never felt that he had what guys like Carson, Letterman, or even Regis Philbin had. I felt like Kelly was carrying the show.

Don’t even get me started on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve! Dick Clark was a master and he obviously saw something in Seacrest. Without Clark, the show hasn’t been the same and I can’t even watch it. It actually bothers me that they still include his name in the title, because it never quite lives up the quality it had when Clark was host.

All that being said, now he will be taking over a game show classic. I fear that it will lose something when he becomes host (much like Family Feud got raunchier when Steve Harvey took over). I am probably dead wrong, because it seems like he can do no wrong, but I feel that this is the beginning of the end for Wheel of Fortune.

I haven’t heard whether Vanna White will leave the show at the end of production this season, but maybe she should consider getting out while she can.